The present invention generally is directed to dispensing of cylindrical articles in an automatic coin controlled vending machine and is particularly adapted for dispensing canned and/or bottled articles.
While machine vending of cylindrical commodities is known the more familiar of such mechanisms are designed to dispense either canned or bottled articles from multiple column magazines. In the usual case, however, the familiar vending machine is designed to dispense either cans or bottles, but not both. Among the more serious problems involved in providing a machine to accommodate both can and/or bottled vending, is that of variation is diameter and length of the cylindrical items. In the main, most efforts in the past have dealt with either the diameter problem or the length problem, but not both in the same dispensing mechanism.
Under current market practice, a variety of canned commodities are dispensed by automatic vending equipment and, depending on their contents, cylindrical articles may vary in diameter approximately three-quarters of an inch, and in length approximately one half inch. As for articles merchandised in bottles, it has been found that the length of the bottles may vary approximately five inches and the diameter approximately three-quarters of an inch. Because of these large size variations there is a need to provide a vending machine for accommodating, not only a wide range of article dimensions, but one which is capable of being supplied with different size articles from a single size supply magazine. It further has become increasingly evident that it is desirable to have a dispensing machanism capable of accommodating both can and bottle vending interchangably.
In considering the dispensing mechanism to be employed with both cans and bottles, it is apparent that the problem of handling both classes of articles in the same dispensing mechanism becomes highly complex unless the articles are substantially of identical size.
One of the more successful attempts to solve the above indicated problems is described in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,083, issued May 13, 1975 which teaches a magazine capable of accommodating or adapting to cylindrical articles of various lengths and diameters and a dispensing mechanism useful therewith which is capable of dispensing either cans or bottles. In brief, the dispensing mechanism of that patent incorporates elevated bar gates which successively hold and lower cylindrical articles to intermediate escrow chambers from which they are successively released by underlying pivotal vending gates. In practice it has been found that while the mechanism of my aforesaid patent is operably successful and capable of meeting the problems to which the same is directed, such is relatively complicated and relatively expensive to manufacture and maintain.
The present invention is directed to an improved and simplified combination can and/or bottle dispensing mechanism which is distinguished by its simplicity, low cost of production and dependable operational characteristics.